Texans cornerback Kareem Jackson (25) slams Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin (89) to the turf in overtime. Jackson was penalized for a personal foul on the play, giving the Seahawks a first down. ( Brett ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle

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Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch (24) is tackled on the sidelines by Texans inside linebacker Darryl Sharpton (51) in overtime. Shaprton was called for a horse collar penalty on the play. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle ) less

Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch (24) is tackled on the sidelines by Texans inside linebacker Darryl Sharpton (51) in overtime. Shaprton was called for a horse collar penalty on the play. ( Brett Coomer / ... more

Texans quarterback Matt Schaub waits in the tunnel to take the field for the season-opener against the Chargers.

Texans quarterback Matt Schaub waits in the tunnel to take the field for the season-opener against the Chargers.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle

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Belichick, Watt share mutual respect for each other

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Belichick, not surprisingly, was also effusive in his praise of Texans’ third-year defensive end J. J. Watt, calling him a “very disruptive player. The impressive thing about him is just how good he is at everything. He’s a very good pass rusher (and) excellent in the running game. He’s strong at the point attack. He gets a lot of double team blocks on the power plays, things like that. He’s real good at those. When you run away from him, he makes a lot of plays from the backside. He’s got excellent quickness, very instinctive player. He knows where the ball is and reacts to it every quickly. It’s hard to run at him, it’s hard to run away from him and it’s hard to block him in the passing game.”

Told of Belichick’s comments, Watt said: “I appreciate that very much. Obviously, any time you get words like that from an opposing coach, it’s a great thing. People who have had success and people who have seen a lot of players play, obviously I respect their opinions and it’s great to hear things like that. Someday I’m going to sit back and I’m going to read the newspaper articles (to) what people had to say about the way I played. And I’m hopefully going to appreciate it.”

Belichick suggested that Watt’s deflected-pass total is way down this season because quarterbacks have stopped trying to challenge him. They’re routing their passes are far from Watt’s paws as possible after he set the NFL record for defensive linemen last season with 16.

Asked about Belichick and the Patriots, Watt said: “There’s plenty of great things you can say about their organization, the way they do things and the way he coaches and the way their players play. The respect goes both ways.”